


Neighbours

by Epiel20



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 05:03:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epiel20/pseuds/Epiel20
Summary: Zari can't stand her new neighbour Charlie. However when she soon finds out that they are going to work together, their hatred begins developing into something more as they collaborate to clean up the mess they're in.AKA Zarlie neighbours au





	Neighbours

"I still don't understand why you're moving", Zari groaned as she watched her neighbour drag heavy brown boxes out the door. Sara had told her of the decision last week, but Zari had still been pouting for days. She hated changed, and avoided it at every turn. She had gotten so used to Sara in the past two years, hell, they were practically best friends as of now. So for her to up and leave, it frustrated Zari.

"I told you. With Ava's promotion, we've been talking about getting serious. It's been a while now, and I think it's about time I moved in. All my stuff is practically there anyway." Zari rolled her eyes. She hated the talk of romance and happiness, but deep down she was happy for them. And with all the knowledge she accumulated about Sara, she knew her friend deserved this. "Besides, the girl I sold to cant be that bad. You can stand to make some new friends", she teased with the wag of her eyebrows.

"I still cant believe you did a blind transaction. And I have plenty of friends! Nate and Ray for instance."

"You know what I mean." Zari merely huffed looking down at the ground. She hated this, and wasn't changing her mind anytime soon. Sara, seeing her stubbornness, set the third box she just retrieved down, and placed her hands on Zari's arms with a sigh. "Look, Z, you know I love you but you got to admit, you're kind of guarded save for me, Ray, and Nate. Occasionally Rory." Zari opened her mouth to contradict the fact, but Sara beat her to it. "I get it too! Hell, before Ava, I wanted to shun everyone who even got close to coming in. But you, you're amazing, Z. If you let people see a fraction of what you show us, there’s no doubt that they would think you're as amazing as we do." She saw the hidden smile on Zari's face, and felt her words struck a cord. Picking up the box, she hit her ex neighbour's arm, and laughed. "Now stop lounging around and help me get the rest of these in the truck."

Mockingly, she stuck out her hand from her forehead and grinned. "Aye aye, captain."

-

About two weeks after Sara's move, things were relatively quiet. Zari even got to listen to her blaring death metal aloud without banging from the other side. If only the house next door could stay empty.

But like most good things for Zari, it didn't last. Soon, on one Tuesday afternoon, there was the sound of one female with an accent, cursing like a sailor. Zari put her laptop down walking towards the source, and her eyes widened at the rather crass language. It was muffled, but still she could make out bits and pieces.

"I couldn't care less about it. Sorry...who wants to be a bloody lawyer for no good rich men?!...Bloody hell...no, 'm not on fucking dr-...whatever I damn well please!” Zari heard the loud sound of a slam which she figured was the door, and believed that was the end of it. Great, she thought, she had a psycho for a neighbour now.

After a few minutes, she began to hear the sounds of a loud electric guitar. She thought it'd pass too like the phone call, but those minutes became an hour and that hour suddenly became two. She had to have this program done for her job by tonight, but she absolutely couldn't focus with all the ruckus next door. Even when she banged against their shared wall repeatedly, she got nothing.

Fed up, she closed her computer, and opened her front door. She marched over, and incessantly knocked on Sara's old door until it swung open. Her mouth opened to yell at her obnoxious neighbour but it quickly fell closed, lost for words.

"What the hell do you want?", asked that husky voice from earlier. Eyes scanning over her, Zari realized she didn’t match what she was expecting at all. There before her stood a woman around her height with a black skirt and matching long sleeve shirt tucked in. She had chains extending along her belt and her hair was done up into a braid with cornrows along the side and hair rings accentuating it. Her make up was dark like her diction, and there was nothing exactly nice about her face. She just seemed annoyed someone interrupted her apparent music vent session.

"So listen", Zari found herself saying condescendingly, "we share a wall, and I have a very important project due tomorrow. If you insist on playing your horrible horrible music all night long, could you at least turn it down?" Perhaps Zari could've used better wording, but with the attitude she was given, her brain seemed to go on auto defense. Charlie had her own combative response to it as well.

"Oh ok", she whispered as she tightly smiled. She left the door open, and Zari watched her walk back to the machine in the corner of her room. She turned one of the knobs to the right, and picked up her guitar playing even louder than before. Cocking her head to the side, she pointed at Zari. "Better?"

The programmer simply rolled her eyes, and closed the door. It seemed this woman didn’t understand the common decency of neighbours. Already, Zari was missing Sara.

-

"Whoa, you look terrible", Nate stated as they all looked at Zari resting her head on the table hiding the bags under her eyes.

"Thanks", she responded looking up. Reaching for the coffee, she sat all the way up, and tried to engage in breakfast with her friends. The only good thing about breakfast at Ray's was that the food was always hot and the coffee always ready. "My new neighbour is an actual monster. She literally played electric guitar until 4 am. I couldn't get any work done because she kept me up all night."

"Who kept you up all night?", Sara asked making her way to the table with John and a plate of buttered toast. "Whoa! You look exhausted."

"You!", Zari glared at Sara, "You did this. You gave me the world's worst neighbour." 

"Oh come on, she cant be that bad." Sara shot Zari an incredulous look, and reached over for the jam. She had approximately fifteen minutes before she had to show up for work, and the dry bagels there were not satisfactory.

"Electric guitar until 4 am!"

"Now you see how it feels." Another glare was fired Sara's way, and before the conversation could continue, they all turned hearing John's.

"Yes, but I'm not her keeper. Plus she already is here. It’d be even more complicated to reverse it now." He said a quick goodbye to whoever was on the other end, and slammed his outdated phone shut. Zari was always hoping he'd break it so he'd get a normal phone like the rest of them, and actually receive their calls. Then again, fifty percent of the time he was ignoring them.

"What was that about?", Ray innocently asked. All of them were genuinely curious. They didn’t think John talked on the phone with anyone else but them.

"Old friends from London. Apparently their kid has moved back over here, and quit her big fancy lawyer job. They're trying to get me to convince her to go back, but cheeky little minx already seemed to settle in."

"So you're not going to talk to her?", Nate asked popping a potato wedge into his mouth. He didn’t know how Ray had the time.

"I'll talk to her, but I know Charlotte, she’s not going to listen and neither should she. Her parents are complete rubbish if you ask me." At that description, they all raised up their eyebrows. Sara, used to Constantine's contradictory behaviour, still decided to ask knowing she'd probably regret it.

"I thought you said they were your friends."

"Ehhhh more like friends of friends. But Charlotte and I go way back. She’s also the type to up and decide to move her life." That's when an idea past in his blonde sporadic head. He looked at Sara with wide eyes as concern seeped in her. "You should come with me!"

"What?", she asked suddenly confused on how they arrived to this part of the conversation.

"You managed to convince me to make some changes, got me a job even. Maybe if you talk to her with me, she might actually think about getting serious and staying still for a bit. Because if I know Charlotte, she’s already looking up flights for the next big city out there." She saw the expectant eyes John had and couldn’t help but roll hers as a groan came out.

"Fine! But you better show up. If she’s anything like you were, she wont exactly be open to some stranger talking to her about her life choices." He nodded promising he'd show but Sara heard all that before. Still, she agreed.

\- 

Muttering under her breath, Zari tried to locate her key. When she felt nothing in her back pocket, she remembered she put it in her bag, and groaned. The large poster she carried from work was being set down, but as she turned around to place it behind her, she felt it knock up against something or rather, someone.

Gasping. she saw the iced coffee her neighbour had suddenly spilt all over her black clothing. Charlie's mouth fell open, and if looks could kill, well Zari would've been long dead. 

"I am so sorry!", Zari started. 

"Are you kidding me? Add that to the list of why I have the world's worst neighbour", Charlie bitterly muttered. Zari had finally had it. Sure they didn't get off on the right start, but it seemed they'd never get on the proper path.

"I'm the worst?! You're the one who was-"

"Look, as much as I'd love for you to finish whatever rant you're about to go on, I have a friend to meet and a new shirt to find. So..." She turned on her heel leaving Zari in her dust before she closed the door in her face. Zari sighed gripping the rolled up poster more firmly. She had no idea how she would coexist with the neighbour made to torture her.

-

"John-O!", Charlie exclaimed when she entered the apartment complex Constantine had called a home, "Long time no see! What was it? A concert in London the last time we met?" John smiled moving in to hug Charlie while Sara stood promptly. She had to admit, Charlie wasn’t at all what she was expecting. She did have that eccentric punk vibe Constantine would associate himself with, but when Sara thought lawyer, Charlie did not come to mind. Neither did she think she'd be as attractive as this.

"The headliner was fantastic, I remember that." Sara started to clear her throat reminding John to stay focused as he nodded his head. "Right, Charlotte, this is Sara. Sara, Charlotte." Charlie approached Sara smiling and stuck out her hand.

"Please, I haven't gone by Charlotte in Eons. Call me Charlie." Once initial introductions were made, Charlie turned back to John, smile fading. "I’m guessing mom and dad told you about my, how'd they phrase it? Mental breakdown." He frowned at her joking tone. Of all people, he knew how terrible Charlie's parents were. They constantly blamed her, and kept her isolated from fun most her life in hopes of creating the perfect lawyer daughter. Charlie often referred to them as her personal prison in their youth.

"What happened?", he softly asked. Charlie renounced her once upbeat attitude, and sighed. Ever since she decided to leave, she hadn’t told anyone what really happened. Back home, no one would’ve believed her anyhow.

"I couldn't take it anymore. It felt like I was trapped, and it was so...suffocating. Then I came out to them." That’s when Constantine started to put the pieces together. He had known Charlie was pan since their dorm days, but no one else did especially her captors of parents. And now he was hearing that she finally did it. She finally told them. "They freaked. As expected. Life only got worse from there and I realized everything I was doing was for them. I became a lawyer for them. I gave up music for them. I lived in that terrible town for them. For once I wanted to do something for me, so I bought a plane ticket, and decided to leave it all behind."

Constantine rubbed his forehead. He understood where Charlie was coming from, and did not at all feel equipped to tell her to think it through. If he were in her shoes, he'd too leave his old life behind to travel the world leaving chaos in his wake. Luckily Sara, realizing she needed to be the voice of reason -per usual- stepped in. 

"Sounds like you made a good choice", Charlie rose an eyebrow wondering how the input of a stranger came to be, "leaving them. They sound awful." Now said stranger was warming up to her. "But maybe hit pause on moving around and try staying still. I can guarantee this city is amazing as are the people. I mean we got John to stay." They all had to admit that was an impressive accomplishment. However, Charlie didn't seem affected by the sentiment.

"No need to worry. I'm staying for a few months, testing the place out. I wanted to start small with my music, and I managed to get a job too." She shrugged her shoulders making her way to John's kitchen in hopes he stocked on something good. "I may hate being a lawyer in a rotten cubicle, but I'm a damn good one. Plus I save countless people getting screwed over by the system just because they're different so I can't throw that away." 

"Where are you working?", Sara inquired. Nonchalantly, Charlie bit into an apple before answering.

"Some woman named Ava knew one of my old contacts and said her company was hiring so here I am." Sara's mind started to make assumptions as she put two and two together. Ava had just mentioned last week how she found a lawyer to help with tech bylaws and clients. She wondered if it was mere coincidence.

"I'm sorry. Does the woman's last name happen to be Sharpe?"

"Yeah", Charlie said eyeing Sara, "she wanted me to come in on Monday to meet with a few of the department heads. Why? You know her?" Sara smiled. Turns out her, Ray, Zari, and Nate would be meeting her anyways.

"Yeah. She’s my girlfriend", Sara paused, "and boss. I'm the head of production." Charlie then straightened up a little, a charming smile forming on her lips.

"Well if the rest of the lot are anything like you and John, I think I'm going to like this place." Sara chuckled but silently agreed. She thought Charlie would make a great addition to their scrappy team.

-

"So this is our lawyer's resume?", Zari asked scanning the folder Ava handed her. Ever since the incident Zari had caused not four months ago with their old client Prudence, they had been in dire need of one. The heat was starting to come down on the company which was ironic because what they did wasn’t even morally questionable like the things that went unnoticed at other places. Still, they needed this cleared up. Fast.

"Yeah. My contact said she comes highly recommended. She may be our best shot at-" She shot Zari sympathetic eyes not wanting to make it seem as if she blamed her because nobody did. Zari let it go though only to purse her lips as she read.

"Oxford? And look at the cases she’s worked. Even I have to admit that’s impressive." Ava chuckled settling in her black swivel chair. She was glad they had finally found one that wasn't a nimrod looking to expose them or hardly do anything.

"The Zari Tomaz admitting someone's competent? Do my ears deceive me?" Zari playfully smacked Ava with the manila folder as she shut it close. References, priors, and background were all good. There wasn't much to complain about. "Now we just have to meet her. I set up a meeting for tomorrow. You're still coming, right?"

"Please, I'm the head of IT. And I'm a professional." A grin was on her face as she tried to contain her laughter. Zari was a professional, and she did take her job seriously, but Legends Inc. wasn't a strict corporate company. They had purpose, and they treated each other as more than prey and predator. They were a family. Save for Nate's dad who owned the place and operated from a far. The big bosses.

"Great. I emailed the details. See you then." And so, Zari left only hoping the lawyer was as good as she was on paper, and not some ass like the neighbour she was about to go home to.

-

That night, Zari figured, with no projects, and her very boring meeting tomorrow getting to know a stranger, she'd have a little fun. Charlie hadn’t started up her music the whole evening so Zari suspected today was her rest day. Indulging in a little payback and, also wanting to jam out to her own music, she blasted her death metal.

It didn't take long before there was banging against the wall.

"Turn it down, will ya?!", a muffled voice yelled. Zari merely smiled turning it up even louder. Somehow this had become their official hate language, and boy did it feel good when Zari spoke.


End file.
